(Alliance News) - On Thursday, the Mib ended the session just below par while in Europe, the stock markets closed mixed in the aftermath of the Fed's decision to keep its benchmark rates unchanged.

Meanwhile, from the U.S., the U.S. Department of Labor reported that the number of people claiming U.S. unemployment benefits was unchanged from the previous week, standing at 208,000 in the period ended April 27, remaining at the lowest level in two months and well below market expectations of 212,000.

Thus, the FTSE Mib closes fractionally in the red at 33,736.40, the Mid-Cap is above par at 47,243.74, the Small-Cap gives up 0.1 percent to 28,893.46, while Italy Growth is in the green by 0.1 percent at 8,230.05.

In Europe, Paris' CAC 40 is giving up 0.7 percent, London's FTSE 100 is up 0.6 percent, while Frankfurt's DAX 40 has lost 0.1 percent.

On the Mib, Banca Monte dei Paschi confirms a good session, closing in the lead with 5.1%. It is followed by Pirelli and Ferrari, in the green by 2.1% and 2.0%, respectively.

Stellantis closes the list and gives up 4.3%. The company on Thursday announced that it has completed the first tranche of the 2024 ordinary share repurchase program announced on February 28, for up to EUR1 billion to be executed on the open market in the period between February 28 and June 5.

From Feb. 28 to April 29, Stellantis purchased a total of 41.1 million ordinary shares for a total consideration of EUR1 billion.

On the cadet segment, Maire Tecnimont closes 4.0 percent in the red, on the heels of Tuesday's 0.5 percent red. The company announced Tuesday that Nextchem reports that NextChem, through its subsidiary NextChem Tech, has finalized the acquisition of 80% of HyDEP and 100% of Dragoni Group.

The transaction price is approximately EUR3.6 million, paid in advance. The deal also includes an earn-out clause based on the achievement of technical targets within 30 months of closing, as well as put and call options on the remaining 20 percent stake in HyDEP exercisable within 36 months of closing.

Worse only Fincantieri, in the red by 5.5 percent.

Mondadori - on par at EUR2.25 per share - reported Thursday that its subsidiary Rizzoli International Publications Inc had completed the acquisition of 100 percent of the share capital of Chelsea Green Publishing Company.

On the Small-Cap, Safilo Group - down 0.3 percent - reported Thursday that it has signed a perpetual license agreement with Authentic Brands Group for Eyewear by David Beckham, replacing the previous contract that expires at the end of 2030. Under the new agreement, Safilo will continue to manage the entire value chain, from the design phase, a creative process led by David Beckham, to global manufacturing and distribution.

Seri Industrial ends down 14 percent. It reported Tuesday that it posted revenues of EUR43.4 million in the first quarter of 2024, down slightly by EUR237,000 from the previous reporting period.

Among SMEs, Imprendiroma rose 49 percent after the accounts. It reported Tuesday that it ended 2023 with a net profit of EUR18.0 million, up 173 percent from EUR6.6 million as of Dec. 31, 2022.

The board of directors proposed to distribute a dividend of EUR0.089, up from about EUR0.04464 a year earlier.

Clabo gives up 1.2 percent after announcing Thursday that it approved consolidated financial statements as of Dec. 31, which closed with a profit of EUR1.2 million from EUR900,000 a year earlier.

Revenues rose to EUR60.5 million from EUR51.4 million.

Ebitda increased 16 percent to EUR10.1 million from EUR8.7 million.

Askoll EVA closes up 24% and lifts price to EUR0.34 per share after a change in top management. The company announced Tuesday that it had appointed Luca Bolcati as the company's new CEO with immediate effect. The board also appointed Luca Bolcati as the company's Investor Relator.

Circle announced Thursday that it has been awarded a EUR300,000, 12-month contract.

The order involves supporting a leading international operator in the provision of Milos Federative Services for multimodal interoperability in the supply chain, document dematerialization and preparation for upcoming EU regulatory changes on the issues.

Promotica's board of directors - in the red by 1.0 percent - reviewed and approved the group's consolidated results as of December 31, 2023, closing with a net income of EUR3.4 million compared to EUR3.2 million as of December 31, 2022.

Sales revenue was EUR84.5 million compared to EUR89.9 million achieved in 2022.

In New York, the Dow Jones rises 0.6 percent, the S&P advances 0.5 percent and the Nasdaq advances 0.8 percent.

Among currencies, the euro changes hands at USD1.0698 from USD1.0692 in Tuesday's European stock close while the pound is worth USD1.2500 from USD1.2522 Tuesday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD83.12 a barrel from USD86.49 a barrel Tuesday evening and gold trades at USD2,304.56 an ounce from USD2,298.92 an ounce Tuesday evening.

Friday's macroeconomic calendar has French industrial production and government budget at 0845 CEST while the Italian unemployment rate is expected at 1000 CEST followed by the European unemployment rate at 1100 CEST.

At the same time German and French registrations will come out.

In the afternoon, from the US, hourly earnings, manufacturing payrolls and the unemployment rate are expected at 1430 CEST.

At 1545 CEST the U.S. S&P Global PMI Composite and Services indices will come out, and the ISM non-manufacturing index at 1600 CEST.

In Piazza Affari, the results of Edison and Intesa Sanpaolo are expected.

By Chiara Bruschi, Alliance News reporter

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